Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—Trump considers new effort to remove Cook from Fed board, (Aug 11, 2026)

By Nora Macaluso

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, says lawmakers “will fight back to make sure he fails.”

The White House told Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook that “the President is considering removing you from your position” after the Supreme Court blocked his earlier attempt to fire her. The basis, according to a letter to Cook signed by Daniel Scavino, assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff, is that there is “sufficient reason to believe you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.” Scavino’s letter gives Cook until Aug. 6, 2026, to respond to the allegations and provide supporting documentation.

The Supreme Court denied Trump’s attempt to stay an injunction preventing him from firing Cook for cause under the Federal Reserve Act. In a 5-4 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said its decision was based on the narrow ground that the president failed to afford Cook the procedural protections to which she was entitled by statute since without those protections, she could not properly dispute the charges the president laid against her (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, June 29, 2026).

The case began with an Aug. 25, 2025, letter Trump posted declaring Cook “hereby removed” from the Fed board, citing allegations that she misrepresented her primary residence in mortgage documents signed in 2021, before her appointment to the Fed (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Aug. 26, 2025). Cook filed suit alleging violations of the Federal Reserve Act and the Fifth Amendment (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Aug. 28, 2026). The Federal Reserve Act states that governors may be removed only “for cause” by the President.

A district judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Cook’s removal (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Sept. 10, 2025). Judge Cobb ruled that the President’s action likely violated the “for cause” requirement because it concerned pre-appointment conduct rather than in-office performance. The district court also found that Cook had a property interest in her fourteen-year term and was entitled to notice and an opportunity to respond before removal under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

The Trump administration appealed to the D.C. Circuit and sought an emergency stay of the district court's injunction, which the court denied in a divided decision (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Sept. 16, 2025). The president subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, resulting in the latest denial.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, pledged to fight Trump’s effort to fire Cook. “Donald Trump is tanking the economy, and he is desperate to shift the blame for higher costs and higher interest rates,” Warren said. “So he’s once again trying to illegally take over America’s central bank. If he is successful, it will be working families who pay the price. We will fight back to make sure he fails.”

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